The Bonds We Share
by FaintQuill
Summary: A heart warming story of two friends that are seemingly inseparable. What will life throw at them? How will they keep their friendship? How will the bonds they share strengthen? A story filled with times that will make you laugh, times that will make you smile and times that will make you cry. (Close-to-real-world AU, possibility of multiple seasons.)
1. First Leaves of Fall

**This is the start of a (hopefully) beautiful new story. Based in a more real-world AU, it will follow the story of Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. There will be joy, there will be humor, there will be shocking plot twists and heavy feels, and yes, eventually, their will be romance. Possibly have multiple seasons if I feel that the story will be long enough. It won't update as often as The Shining Knight as these chapters will take longer to write (especially since it is mindless chaos). Any-who, Read, Review and most of all Enjoy. This is Quill, signing off. **

The first leaves of the coming fall had turned to red as the days to a new school year were numbered. Soon the bells would ring and children of all ages would put pen to paper in the pursuit of knowledge. The whole experience was foreign to one equally foreign boy. The cooler weather seemed alien to him, as the time of year was warm back at his home… well, his old home anyhow. Vale was his home now, having moved here permanently due to his father's work. The little English that the dark-haired boy spoke would suffice for his first year of school, though he hadn't planned on conversing with others. His new surroundings brought him no comfort, and why would they? The now five-year old boy had moved so far from home, to a scary new world.

The plane ride was tiring and the drive that followed was more so, but he couldn't sleep. The small child was too occupied by thought to sleep, taking in the sights of his new life. It was all so different, the buildings weren't littered with brightly lit billboards and the streets weren't piled with pedestrians. Everything was calmer here compared to the busy town he was used to. The people didn't look like he did, nor did they look like anyone he had seen. Their skin was different to his as were their facial features; he wasn't sure why they were different, but he remained quite despite his curiosity. The buildings gradually grew smaller, changing from high-rise city buildings to two and one story houses. The car travelled deeper into the suburbs of this new place until it pulled into a stone driveway. The house that lay at the end was blocky and white, very unlike the housing that the small boy was used to. The child's father spoke to him in their native tongue.

"We're here son. I'll show you to your room." The boy remained silent, only nodding in acknowledgment. Taking the taller man's hand as he stepped out of the vehicle and breathing in heavily, the boy began to shiver slightly. Noticing this, his father removed his own jacket and covered the boy's shoulders with it. "Come now, your room has already been set up." Looking up to his father, a much taller man than he was with hair as black as his own, he sighed. The two walked hand in hand down the decorated hallways, everything having been set up in anticipation of their arrival. All their belongings were in place in a way that the boy hadn't seen them before, which only added to the home-sick feeling that had developed in his stomach. His father opened a door and gestured for the boy to enter. What he found inside was indeed his room, made to look exactly as his old one, minus the style of the walls; however it didn't feel the same. As much as the boy wanted to believe this was his room, the room he had lived in for his whole life, it just wasn't the same.

"I want to go home…" he said sadly in his native language.

"This is home now. I'll let you get settled in," his father said, releasing his hand and stepping out of the room. The door closed with a faint click as the man turned out of the boys view. The dark-haired child walked around his room, investigating every inch of it with mild dissatisfaction. It looked like his room, even the finest details were there, yet it just didn't feel right and he wasn't sure why. Reaching a small desk that his grandfather had made for him, the boy sat down on a chair that was made to match. He ran his hands along the fine wood of both desk and chair, soothing himself as he did so. The matching pair of furniture was a gift from the boy's grandfather before he passed away; it was finely crafted and spoke volumes about the man's skills as beautiful patterns covered the legs, arms and sides. At least this was the same, at least this felt right. Taking a seat, the boy opened a small book that rested on his desk, titled in his language 'learn to speak English for ages 3-7.' Scanning over the words, he began to recite what he saw; first saying a sentence in his head, and then repeating the translated version aloud.

"Hal, uh, hell-o… my… name… is Lie Ren."

A week passed as fall pressed on and Ren had rarely left his new room. No matter how hard he tried the boy just couldn't feel at home, and it was beginning to affect him in a displeasing way. The boy couldn't stay asleep for more than a few hours each night, and the constant waking up and falling asleep had taken its toll on the boy. He didn't look happy, a very distant and saddened look was all that ever marked his face; it was worrying to his parents. His mother had arrived a few days after he and his father had, and had settled in seemingly overnight. The boy couldn't understand how his parents could so easily feel at home here; though he did note that it had been a little better since the woman had arrived, but not by much. So now, on this early Monday morning, he stood in front of a mirror and stared at the sight that greeted him. Short dark hair that had been combed over sat on top of his head, the reflection of bright magenta eyes stared into his own as they searched for relief. The face that looked back harboured a sad expression to match his and the body wore identical clothing; creamy-white pants with a green jacket that hid away his plain black t-shirt.

"Ren," his mother called, "come have some breakfast before we leave for school, okay?"

"Yes, mother," he called back while giving himself one last look in the mirror.

_Knock, Knock, Knock. _The small knuckles the laced the boy's hands tapped meekly against the big orange door; it was made of a strong wood and had a metal sign bolted to it that read 'E2.' The door opened in response and in its place stood a tall, blonde haired woman who wore a neat white jacket with purple highlights and pair of black jeans.

"Ah, you must be Lie Ren, correct?" The child simply nodded in affirmation. "Excellent, I'm Miss Goodwitch and I'll be your teacher for the year." She said with a grand smile. The woman was young, most likely having just started her teaching career and there was a soothing aura about her. Ren immediately loosened up, not having realised that he had tensed up in the first place. "Well why don't you come on in and take a seat with the others, we're about to start some reading time." A smile crept onto the small boys face for the first time since moving to Vale as he stepped into the classroom. There was no need to miss his home here and he certainly wasn't going to miss his new house, which still wasn't home to him; no, here he was just like anyone else. Here he was at school, his school. "What do you prefer to be called?" the teacher whispered to the small boy.

"Ren, Miss." A warm smile spread across Goodwitch's face.

"Ok, class, this is Ren. He recently moved into Vale from a faraway country, so be sure to make him feel welcome." A couple of people smiled at the boy, naïve to the differences between themselves and the child. Others gave a curious look, noticing how he wasn't like they were; some thought it was cool, others not so much. "Ok, settle down now. Today we will be reading 'Green Eggs and Ham' by Dr Seuss. 'I am Sam, Sam I am…"

The bell rang, startling a few of the children; it was time for recess. Grabbing out a few snacks that his mother had packed, the dark-haired boy walked over to a bench and sat down, setting his food to the side as he struggled to open a small bag of potato chips. Too focused on the task at hand, he failed to realise the shadow of three other students prowling closer.

"Hey you, you're that Ren guy, right?"

"Uh, yes… I am Ren."

"You talk funny."

"I'm sorry; I don't speak English very good."

"You're weird and you look funny," the bigger boy stated, pointing an accusing finger at Ren. The other two boys stated to laugh which confused the small boy on the bench, why were they laughing? "Ha-ha, you're a freak!" The brown-haired boy cried teasingly. Without warning the boy pushed Ren, causing him to fall of his seat and land on the ground with a solid thump. Taking the downed boy's food, the trio began to open up his snacks and throw them at him.

"No, stop please, I don't like this, stop!" he cried as he tried to get back to his feet. Why were they doing this? What did he ever do to them? Was it something he said? The boy broke down in tears, confused about why the other students were doing this. He heard one shout something about a cry baby and a funny looking freak. Why won't they stop? Why isn't anyone helping? Just then another voice, a girl this time, silenced the others and stopped the projectiles being thrown.

"Hey, Cardin, leave him alone!"

"Go away Nora, this has nothing to do with you!"

"Wanna bet?" she asked, raising her fists. Nora Valkyrie was known to be a fighter, and a damn good one at that. In kindergarten, she would always beat anyone who hit her first and win without anything more than a scratch. She wasn't mean or vicious, and would only fight when necessary. Defending an otherwise defenceless classmate was defiantly on her list of 'fight worthy situations.' Cardin Winchester had experienced her force first hand when he decided to pull on the girl's orange locks when they were in the sandpit, leaving with a nice bruise on his left cheek. Remembering this, the boy who Ren now knew as Cardin turned to his friends and yelled out to run; the three dispersed, leaving one small sobbing boy and one curious energetic girl. "Hey there," she said sweetly while inspecting the boy. He seemed harmless enough. The boy continued to sob, remaining silent. "I'm Nora, what's your name?"

The sobbing child looked up at his saviour; a small girl who was barely taller than him with long-orange hair falling in all directions. She wore a pretty pink and white dress with a pink heart in the centre of her chest. Her turquoise eyes scanned the boy, a sweet worried look in her eyes. "My name?" he asked. The happy girl nodding wildly as the boy spoke. "Ren," he said simply, his magenta eyes looking into deep turquoise. The eyes her stared into widened at the sight.

"Wow, you're eyes are so pretty! There pink! I love pink, it's my favourite colour!" she screamed in glee as she practically bounced around on the spot. He looked away shyly, never having anyone acting like this before. In the few seconds where the girl had held still, she noticed the boy's food littering the ground around him; a sudden determination filled her eyes. "Come with me,' she yelled as she grabbed the other student's wrist, pulling him up and dragging him with her. The two stopped by where they had stored their bags and the bubbly girl opened hers up. She handed a muesli bar and cheese dip to the boy saying, "Here, have these. You need to eat something after all."

"And why wouldn't he eat his own food?" Miss Goodwitch asked after noticing the two.

"Well, a couple of boys were throwing his food at him."

"I see… Ren, would you be able to point out the ones who did that when everyone returns to class?" The boy nodded meekly. "Good. Can you tell me what they were doing and what they were saying? Please." The boy nodded again before repeating what he could remember of the trio's words. "Hmm, I will have to talk to them. Thankyou Ren, I'll ask you who did it in class, for now I suggest you stay with Nora," she said, her expression unusually grim. The two walked away, Nora blabbing on and on about whatever came to mind while Ren simply listened. The bell rang once more, causing the two to stop.

"Yay, class time; I can't wait for the others to meet my new friend," she said gleefully to herself. The word's caused the dark-haired boy to stop, remembering what that meant.

"Friend?" he asked almost voiceless, though the girl in pink still heard it.

"Yup, we're best friends now!"

"Best… friends?" The girl nodded excitedly, confirming the boy's questions. Little did the two realize how much promise there was in those two little words, and how beautiful a friendship they would lead to.

**For those who are wondering why I have posted this and not The Shining Knight, I'm still on a no-writing period to study for exams. This chapter has been finished for a week now and I decided that it would be a good time to upload while taking a quick break from studying. And to anyone who is wondering what happened to Snow-Angel, it has been taken down for fine tuning as there are several changes to be made to the story. It will return, but not for a while (sorry about that). Quill, out.**


	2. His First Christmas

**What can I say; I'm in the Christmas spirit XD Finally, chapter 2. Based a few months after chapter 1 and still featuring little Ren and Nora; because there just too cute! Both Nora's and Ren's parents are named now, hope you like them. This is the chapter I'm doing in any story for the year unfortunately, so I hope it's good. Enough ranting, read, review and above all enjoy! Above all of that though, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This is Quill, signing out for the last time in 2013.**

As time passed Ren and Nora became practically inseparable, always by each other's side whenever they could be. The Valkyrie girl was very protective of the boy, always defending him against bullies and standing up for him. She was the only person the he talked to, aside from Miss Goodwitch and his parents; no other person in Vale had even heard him say a word as he often talked in nothing short of a whisper. This was how he liked it, at the energetic girl's side, it was the only place he felt safe other than his house. The house still didn't feel like home to the small boy, but it was slowly getting there; yet the funny thing was, on three separate occasions, his house did feel like home, more than his old home ever did. What was intriguing was each of these three occasions had one thing in common; Nora was at the house, once for a play date, once for dinner and once when she stayed over for a night. He felt at home when Nora was there, she made everything better.

Never having gone more than two days apart was both a good and bad thing, and right now it was a very bad thing. Both children were beyond lost after having not seen or spoken to one another for five days straight. Their first semester of schooling had finally drawn to a close, and their first Christmas holidays had arrived; and despite the joyful holiday approaching, neither child was themselves. The quite boy had become distant, barely speaking even to his parents while the hyperactive girl had fallen to a mope everywhere she went. Their attitudes were causing worry to stir within their parents; something had to be done.

"-Okay, then it's settled… Great… See you both then… Bye." A faint click indicated that the house phone had been hung up once more. Standing in front of said phone was a reasonably tall and well-built man with light orange hair and turquoise eyes, accompanied by a smaller woman who had red hair and blue eyes. "Hey Nora, can you come down here for a minute?" There was no reply other than the slow thumps of heavy footsteps. After another twenty or so steps sounded, the unusually glum child stood in front of the two adults.

"Yes Dad?" she asked her father, her voice carrying obvious sadness.

"We have a surprise for you," he said with a playful tone, catching the child's curiosity.

"Come on, let's get you ready. We're going out to dinner tonight," her mother added sweetly while holding out her hand. The orange haired girl took her mother's hand and followed her along to her own room, where mother and daughter set to work on preparing for the evening. Meanwhile, several blocks away, a rather reluctant boy was suffering a similar kind of treatment.

"Honestly Ren, the coat isn't that bad," exclaimed the boy's mother calmly.

"Why do I have to get dressed up, where are we going anyway," he said grouchily while trying to shake away the green and black jacket that was looming over him.

"We are going out to dinner, and you'd see it best to behave and put on that jacket," his father said from the doorway that he'd just stepped through. The child gave up his struggles and submitted to the coat that wrapped around his body.

"Yes Father."

Now that he thought about it, Ren was glad to have the coat; the winter air was freezing and the cold was only intensified by the blanket of snow that covered Vale. Hugging it for extra warmth, the dark haired boy and his parents walked away from the car park and down a busy main street. Shops were bursting with last minute Christmas shoppers, cafés were packed with citizens trying to escape the cold and the street featured many musical artists, magic acts and street performers. Indeed, Christmas was a big part of Vale's winter culture and the sight was fascinating to the young, inexperienced eyes of Lie Ren. Back in his hometown Christmas wasn't celebrated; sure there was mention of it but never was it celebrated like this. It was a majestic marvel to the boy.

"We're here," his father said, snapping the boy out of his tranced state. Looking up, he found himself at the door to Qrow's Quisine, a friendly looking family restaurant that sat midway through Vale's main street. The buildings décor was both modern and yet classic, the two contrasts blending together to give a truly amazing sight. Magenta eyes scanned over these new surroundings as the boy and his parents moved over to sit in the waiting area. "Now remember, we have guests tonight so be on your best behaviour."

"Yes Sir."

"And please, try cheer up."

"Yes Sir."

The trio waited for about ten minutes when their guests finally arrived. Ren didn't look up at first, until he heard his name called out by a familiar voice. When he did look up, his mood instantly changed from sad to surprise as the figure of a girl slightly taller than himself filled his eyes.

"Nora?" Before his thoughts could process he found himself in a hug that one could classify as a death grip, the surprisingly strong arms of a Valkyrie child around him.

"Ren! I missed you! How are you? What have you been doing? Are you looking forward to Christmas? Did you miss me? Do you like the snow? Have you-"

"Nora, let the poor boy breathe!" her father sad with a hint of worry.

"Oops, sorry," she giggled. "So… did you miss me?" she asked, rocking on her heels with her hands behind her back. Ren looked away with slight embarrassment.

"Well… yeah I di-oof!" Once again the small boy found himself crushed in his friend's arms.

"Oh I knew you missed me!"

"Come on you two, let's get dinner," Ren's mother said with amusement.

"Come on Ren," Nora cried joyfully as she grabbed the boys hand and pulled him along. Though she could be a little over active at times, he really did feel happiest when around her. She was his best friend, his only friend, and he enjoyed her company. The two had taken their seats right next to each other while their fathers ordered for the table; Nora started to talk about whatever came to mind and rarely stopped to breathe while Ren listened intently, trying to process as much as he could. Their mothers sat across from each other and discussed their days and how cute the two children looked together. Their fathers returned to the table, discussing business ordeals and exchanging stories. Ren's father was an architect while Nora's ran a popular construction company, so the two hit it off rather well.

"We will have to do business together some time, Ryuuichi."

"Indeed Mr Valkyrie, I have a few designs I think you might like."

"Please, I really do insist you call me James."

"Well, James, I say we meet up next week. I have a new design that I would love a second opinion on."

"Oh, shush you two, were here for dinner not a business meeting," the foreign woman said with a roll of her eyes. Both men apologized and continued on the evening, discussing common interests and joining in on their wives conversation now and then. While the adults chatted among themselves, Ren and Nora both ate their dinners while discussing the upcoming holiday.

"Wait, you've never had a Christmas before? Weird, I thought Santa visited every ones house all over the world."

"Santa?"

"You don't know who Santa is?" The boy shook his head in response. "Well I'll tell you about him. He's a fat man who wears a red suit with a stocking hat. All your around he lives up in the North Pole with the elves and reindeer while they make toys for all the good children and coal for all the bad ones. Then every year, just before Christmas, he visits all the shops in the world so that kids can have a photo with him and they can tell him what they want for Christmas, or they can send him a letter. Then, on Christmas Eve while everyone is asleep, he visits ever house and delivers presents to all the good children, that way on Christmas morning they can wake up and open the presents and get lots of toys. It's the coolest thing ever." The childlike incense Nora displayed while giving her speech on 'Who Santa Is' would melt the heart of even the fictional character of Ebeneezer Scrooge. Ren was absolutely fascinated.

"I've never had presents from Santa before."

"What! That's weird… hmm… maybe he couldn't find your old house."

"Maybe…"

"Well, I'm sure you will have presents under the tree this year!" By now, the parents were listening to the two children discuss their childhood beliefs.

"What tree?"

"The Christmas tree with all the lights and balls and stuff," she exclaimed joyfully, "Don't you have one?"

"No, I don't," the boy said a little sadly. Nora scrunched her face up while she thought deeply, about what was uncertain. Eventually she let out the biggest smile as an idea popped into her head.

"I know, I'll tell Santa to send your presents to my house. That way you can come over on Christmas and open them there!" Both children smiled brightly at the idea, Ren had never experienced the holiday before and he would want nothing more than to see what it was like.

"I don't know, can Santa do that?" James asked Ren's father.

"I think Santa could, just this once," he replied to the Valkyrie father. The smile on both children intensified and the taller of the two let out a squeal; she really had a set of lungs.

"This will be the best Christmas EVER!"

"There here! There here! Mum, Dad, there here!"

"Alright child, calm down. Remember, try not to suffocate Ren this time. It is his first Christmas after all, I think he'd like to live through it," her father stated with a chuckle.

"I know, Dad! I'm so excited!"

"You're always excited on Christmas," her mother added with a playful roll of her eyes.

"Yes, but this will be the best Christmas ever because Ren will be here too!"

"Maybe turn your volume down a few notches," both parents said simultaneously. Up until this point, Nora had been yelling with all her pent-up enthusiasm. Hopping from foot to foot while she stood at the door, she waited for a knock. Counting the seconds that passed in her head, one, two, three, four… a sudden tapping sound came from the door. Letting out a high pitch squeal, she reached up and opened the door with a mile wide smile.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" she shouted with glee as two adults and their son stood looked at her with a heart filled smile. "Come on Ren," she cried out, grabbing his hand and pulling him along, "Santa's been and he left heaps of presents for us! Come on, I can't wait any more!" Despite her parent's advice, she had raised her voice a few notches as the excitement poured out. As they stepped into the lounge room Ren was greeted with the sight of a bright green and highly decorated tree, underneath said tree was a large pile of wrapped up gifts. Wide eyes stared at the tree; it was nothing like the boy had ever seen. When Nora had said that a man in red came to children's houses and left presents, he had never thought it would be that many. Nora ran over and retrieved two presents, handing the one labelled '_Ren' _to the amazed boy. They both opened their gifts before moving onto the next one, and then the next one, and so on until all the presents had been opened. At the end of it all Nora had received a toy hammer, several stuffed animals, a few new clothes that were all pink and a pair of roller blades; Ren on the other hand received a sketch pad with pencils, a toy piano, several articles of clothing and a toy katana.

"Ha, your sword is no match for my hammer," Nora exclaimed as she held up the hammer triumphantly.

"No way," Ren replied with an equally triumphant stance. The two exchanged a brief look, almost as if reading the others mind. Both moved into an offensive stance before simultaneously shouting charge. Toy hammer met toy katana with playful strikes, both children laughing and yelling as their play fight continued. Eventually it ended with the mention of breakfast.

"Come on you lot, pancakes are ready," Nora's mother stated. The four adults and two children gathered around the kitchen table, each grabbing their share of pancakes. One by one they all began to eat the fluffy slices of heaven that formed mountains on their plates.

"Amelia, these pancakes are amazing. You have to teach me the recipe," Ren's mother said after finishing a mouthful.

"Uh-uh Izumi, it's a family recipe," Nora's mother replied teasingly. The rest of breakfast went on with casual conversation and the two children went off to play with their new toys. After a couple of hours, Ren and his parents said their farewells; however Nora was nowhere to be found. The trio walked down the driveway and reached their car, but there was still no site of the orange haired girl. The doors opened, no Nora. One parent in the car, still no Nora; Ren's father held the small boys door open, awaiting him to enter. As he was about to hop in, the cry of 'Wait' sounded from behind them. Turning around, both father and son saw the missing girl running as fast as she could towards them, holding a small blue box.

"I almost forgot to give you this, silly me," she giggled as she held out the box. Ren grab the gift happily and opened it up, revealing a bracelet like item that was pink with a bit of orange and white. "It's a friendship bracelet. I made it for you, well mum helped but it was my idea. I have a matching one, see," she exclaimed, holding up her wrist. On it was a similar looking bracelet coloured green with black and gold. "This way we always have something to remind us of each other, because the colours will remind us of other person; now we won't have to miss each other so much!" A thoughtful gift no doubt, and it worked; the colours of his new hand-made bracelet did remind him of the Valkyrie girl. "Soooo, what do you think?" she asked happily.

"I really like it, thank you," he replied with a smile, before finding himself in another one of Nora's bear hugs.

"Oh, I knew you would," she squealed, "well, bye-bye Ren! Merry Christmas!"

"Goodbye, merry Christmas to you too," he replied while catching his breath. With that, he hoped into the car and waved goodbye. The whole ride home he would only stare at the bracelet that now wrapped around his wrist with a warm smile on his face.


End file.
